Site-specific endonucleases theoretically allow for the targeted manipulation of a single site within a genome and are useful in the context of gene targeting for therapeutic and research applications. In a variety of organisms, including mammals, site-specific endonucleases have been used for genome engineering by stimulating either non-homologous end joining or homologous recombination. In addition to providing powerful research tools, site-specific nucleases also have potential as gene therapy agents, and two site-specific endonucleases have recently entered clinical trials: (1) CCR5-2246, targeting a human CCR-5 allele as part of an anti-HIV therapeutic approach (NCT00842634, NCT01044654, NCT01252641); and (2) VF24684, targeting the human VEGF-A promoter as part of an anti-cancer therapeutic approach (NCT01082926).
Specific cleavage of the intended nuclease target site without or with only minimal off-target activity is a prerequisite for clinical applications of site-specific endonuclease, and also for high-efficiency genomic manipulations in basic research applications. For example, imperfect specificity of engineered site-specific binding domains has been linked to cellular toxicity and undesired alterations of genomic loci other than the intended target. Most nucleases available today, however, exhibit significant off-target activity, and thus may not be suitable for clinical applications. An emerging nuclease platform for use in clinical and research settings are the RNA-guided nucleases, such as Cas9. While these nucleases are able to bind guide RNAs (gRNAs) that direct cleavage of specific target sites, off-target activity is still observed for certain Cas9:gRNA complexes (Pattanayak et al., “High-throughput profiling of off-target DNA cleavage reveals RNA-programmed Cas9 nuclease specificity.” Nat Biotechnol. 2013; doi:10.1038/nbt.2673). Technology for engineering nucleases with improved specificity is therefore needed.
Another class of enzymes useful for targeted genetic manipulations are site-specific recombinases (SSRs). These enzymes perform rearrangements of DNA segments by recognizing and binding to short DNA sequences, at which they cleave the DNA backbone, exchange the two DNA helices involved and rejoin the DNA strands. Such rearrangements allow for the targeted insertion, inversion, excision, or translocation of DNA segments. However, like site-specific endonucleases, naturally-occurring SSRs typically recognize and bind specific consensus sequences, and are thus limited in this respect. Technology for engineering recombinases with altered and/or improved specificity is also needed.